Electrochemical devices of this type can, in particular, be configured as electric accumulators, for example as lithium-ion accumulators.
In a lithium-ion accumulator, the voltage difference between the two cell terminals (poles) of an individual accumulator cell is about 3.6 V. In order to obtain a higher voltage level of, for example, about 360 V, which is required for many applications, for example in automotive drive engineering, many such accumulator cells (for example about 100) have to be electrically connected in series.
In connection therewith, the accumulator cells or, in general, electrochemical cells can be combined into modules, which in each case contain a plurality of such electrochemical cells, the installation direction of cells arranged next to one another alternating, so that positive and negative cell terminals alternately lie next to one another.
These mutually adjacent cell terminals with opposite polarity are directly connected to one another for the series connection of the cells by means of a respective cell connector.
Forces acting on the cell terminals, which are transmitted by the cell connector, occur owing to different thermal expansions of the arrangement of electrochemical cells and the cell connector (because of temperature differences and/or because of differences in the respective thermal coefficients of expansion).